Secret Identities and Hidden Motives
by FeedtheFlames
Summary: Merlin reveals his magic to Arthur right before sacrificing himself to save Arthur's life. Arthur thinks Merlin is dead but who is this new sorcerer who has named himself as Arthur's protector? And why won't he trust Arthur enough to show him his face? Set between series 4 and 5. Arthur and Merlin friendship only. No slash. Some angst! Rated T to be safe. Changed title.
1. Chapter 1 - The Final Battle

**AN: Hey everyone! I've been working on this story for probably about a week and I'm so excited it's done. Now to be honest this isn't one of my best. I got this idea stuck in my head but I have SO many stories stuck in my head that I just kind of rushed through this one because I wanted to keep working on my others. Still despite the lack of effort on my part I am VERY pleased with how it turned out. I worked pretty hard on the interactions between Arthur and Merlin and even Gwaine, Gwen, and Gaius.**

**So here's the story, angsty goodness and I have more to come so subscribe if you like my writing and like that kind of stuff!**

**Enjoy!**

~.~.~.~

This was not good. This _so_ was not good. Merlin and Arthur had been in plenty of bad situations before but Merlin couldn't think of one that had been worse than this. Then again, it always felt that way right before they were going to die, or at least right before he thought they were going to die, and they had always gotten out of those situations before obviously because they weren't dead now... Still he was sure even if he thought about this later (if he even survived _this,_) he would come to the conclusion that this was by far the worst situation they had ever been in.

Surrounding them was a mixture of mercenaries and sorcerers, nearly forty men combined. The sorcerers were not that powerful and the mercenaries not that skilled… at least not compared to Merlin and Arthur. To their back was a sheer cliff, they were pressed so close to it that Merlin could easily see over the edge and they were so high up that clouds blocked the view to the ground. At the moment they were at a standoff, no one approached but he knew they were just waiting for something, perhaps the opportune moment to attack with the least amount of them dying as possible.

That lead him back to his first thought of this was so not good. He held a sword in his hand, though he knew which weapon he would secretly be fighting with. They had been separated from the knights when first ambushed which seemed to be a purposeful ploy on the parts of their enemies, but Merlin was nearly attached to Arthur at the hip. There was no way they would separate Arthur from his secret protector.

The more Merlin gaped at the people surrounding them the more Merlin came to the conclusion that they could not win this… not without him revealing his magic. This was not the way he wanted it to go down, he was supposed to reveal himself to Arthur back in the safety of Camelot, perhaps after Arthur had accepted magic or maybe to convince Arthur too accept magic not now when they were in mortal peril.

Merlin turned his attention to the man standing beside him. Arthur seemed to be weighing the options as well and by the look on his face he was coming to the same conclusions, without , of course, the knowledge of Merlin's magic to fall back on.

They were pressed shoulder to shoulder, facing different directions, creating a V shape. The enemy was on three different sides, the cliff on the fourth. Merlin whispered to Arthur. "This is bad isn't it?"

Despite the situation he heard Arthur give Merlin an exasperated sigh. "No Merlin. This is perfect, exactly the situation we want to be in."

Merlin ignored the biting tone. "We're not going to make it out of this are we?" He asked. Even though he was fairly sure he had to be absolutely sure, and he trusted Arthur's judgment when it came to battles far above his own.

But Arthur didn't answer him, and his silence was answer enough. Merlin hesitated a moment longer, waiting for that moment when something would happen, a miracle of sorts, that would keep him from having to reveal his magic like he had so many times before in the past, but the moment didn't come, the mercenaries and sorcerers watched them with evil grins, surrounding them slowly, waiting for something, what they were waiting for Merlin didn't know but hopefully they would wait long enough for Merlin to ask this one last question.

"Arthur… there's something I have to know…"

~.~.~.~

"Arthur… there's something I have to know…" Arthur was about to speak to the men surrounding them, about to give their surrender when Merlin interrupted him.

"Not now, _Mer_lin." He hissed.

He held his arms up and let his sword fall. "We surrender." He said.

"Arthur what are you doing?" Merlin hissed at him.

"This is a no win scenario Merlin, maybe at the very least I can get them to spare your life." Arthur whispered back.

Merlin began to sputter some sort of loyal and self-sacrificing response but was interrupted by a rather ugly man who stepped forward to speak for the band of renegades. Arthur was actually kind of surprised that they had managed to pull together such a rag tag group and wondered who was behind it.

"We have no intention of capturing you." The man said. "It is in our best interests if you die."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Arthur gritted out.

The man smirked. "Let's just say we're savoring the moment." He said.

"Arthur…" Merlin whispered urgently and Arthur resisted the urge to roll his eyes in that moment.

"What?" He hissed back.

"I have to ask you something." Merlin stated.

"Now's not really the time." Arthur growled.

"Please…" Merlin whispered and Arthur didn't respond, surprised by the pleading he heard in his manservant's voice. Merlin took his silence as consent and continued. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

The question surprised Arthur and he gave one of his customary responses. "You're a complete idiot who can't even manage his chores properly." Arthur mumbled.

"Arthur…" And the pleading and seriousness in Merlin's voice changed his reaction.

"Yes." Arthur said. He wasn't about to get all mushy with Merlin, a simple answer would suffice.

"What if I did something crazy?" Merlin asked.

"Honestly Merlin you're standing right next to me and that's crazy enough." Arthur muttered.

"What if I did something you never thought I could ever do?"

Arthur had no idea where this was going, this was a really strange conversation, even for Merlin.

"What the hell are you talking about, Merlin?" He asked.

"What if I had magic?"

The word made Arthur's heart freeze but immediately a bubble of laughter slipped out. "That's funny Merlin." He said. "But now's not the time for jokes."

"I'm not joking."

"There's no way you could ever have magic." Arthur stated very confidently.

"But what if I did? Would you think differently of me? Would you trust me?"

Arthur wanted to brush this off but he could hear how important this was to Merlin so he stopped and actually thought about it. "I don't know." He finally responded and he heard a sad sigh from Merlin in response.

Just then a man emerged from the crowd. Someone they had all been waiting for, Arthur saw the crooked and evil grins on the faces of the men waiting in the crowd. There was something very bad about this man.

The man who had answered them before stepped forward. "This is Eros. He has a very special magical ability. For your crimes, Arthur Pendragon, you will not only die by magic but in the most painful way possible." Arthur almost shuddered and he felt Merlin shudder behind him.

"Let my manservant go. He has nothing to do with this." Arthur requested.

"No." Merlin said loudly. "If you're going to kill him you'll have to kill me first."

Arthur sighed and closed his eyes. "You really are an idiot aren't you Merlin?" Arthur whispered glancing at his servant. Merlin had that cheeky grin, the disarming smile he always had, but there was a certain sadness in his eyes like he was saying goodbye.

"Till the end." he joked and despite himself Arthur couldn't help but smile.

The man shrugged. "Makes no difference to us." He stated.

Eros began to move forward, the man was hunched over and looked to be in pain by the way he walked, or staggered really, towards them, his body was littered with scars, his head bald, in all honesty he looked quite awful. It was almost enough for Arthur to pity the man except for the gleam in his eye and the evil crooked smile on his face. His hand was outstretched as he walked and finally after a long painful wait he stopped, halfway between Arthur and the crowd of men who all took several steps back.

The man opened his mouth and began to speak and a beam of light shot out from his hand. Arthur held his breath waiting for the moment for it to strike but was startled by another set of foreign words to come from somewhere beside him as a transparent shield appeared in front of them.

He turned with wide eyes and stared at Merlin, whose hand was outstretched and whose eyes were burning a molten gold. The sorcerer's spell ended and he stared in shock at Merlin but Merlin didn't hesitate to send his own spell at the sorcerer, knocking him to the ground where he did not move again.

Arthur didn't really have time to process this information, suddenly his sword was back in his hand and the mercenaries who had all been staring in shock like he had were now charging. He was then kept quite busy just trying to stay alive. He heard Merlin shouting those same foreign words behind him, at one point he thought Merlin even roared and he glanced back, to make sure the newly proclaimed sorcerer was still alive, Merlin still had a sword in his hand and was using it to chop down his enemies while he continued to shout out foreign words.

Arthur turned his attention back to fighting forcing himself to dwell on this new information later. Merlin was busy dealing with both mercenaries and sorcerers and trying to block attacks from both on Arthur as well. Finally the last sorcerer that Arthur could see fell to the ground and with that Merlin let out another roar like sound and suddenly at least ten men around him fell.

Followed by another five and soon it was just Merlin and Arthur standing on a bloody battlefield. They were both breathing heavily, Arthur slowly looked up at Merlin who stared at the bodies around him, not wanting to meet Arthur's eyes but finally his curiosity won and his eyes flickered to Arthur's.

Arthur threw his sword into the ground, the sword that had magically flown into his hand earlier and marched towards Merlin. Merlin took a step back but cast an uneasy glance behind him where the cliff was. Arthur grabbed him by his shirt and shook hard.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" He screamed in Merlin's face, finally the most recent revelation catch up with him. His words were more raw emotion than actual communication. "YOU'RE A BLOODY SORCERER? You never said anything! You've been lying to me all this time!"

"Arthur… I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...Please… I'm sorry, I only used it for you, Arthur, please… I'm so sorry." Merlin was muttering the words over and over again as Arthur continued to shake and scream. Finally Arthur hit him nearly causing Merlin to go over the edge except that Arthur still had a hold on his shirt, he held him there, dangling over the edge for a moment before yanking him back causing him to stumble and fall to the ground.

Then he stepped back as Merlin brought a hand up to his bleeding nose. Arthur's eyes still full of anger, his whole body seething with fury. "No." He said like a response to a question.

Merlin looked at him confused, hurt, scared, terrified to be precise, but slowly stood to his feet as he waited for Arthur to continue. "No, I don't trust you, and I will never be able to trust you again." Arthur didn't know if he actually believed those words even as he said them but enough of him did to say them, or enough of him wanted to hurt Merlin in order to say it.

Merlin's eyes widened in shock, a slew of emotions flew across his face, hurt, fear, denial and then finally sadness and resignation. He opened his mouth to say something but suddenly his face changed, his eyes widened as he focused on something behind Arthur.

"Arthur! Look out!" He cried pushing Arthur to the side and raising his hand to direct it at the crumpled form of the sorcerer Eros. He wasn't fast enough though and the blast of magic that Eros inflicted hit him straight in the chest.

He stepped back his eyes widening in pain and horror. Arthur's face mirrored Merlin's. There was a gaping hole in the middle of Merlin's chest, no blood came forth because the area was charred and blackened and the smell of it was revolting. Merlin raised his hand weakly again at the sorcerer who was still looking at him in amazement and whispered something before taking one step back too many. A light shot from his hand and hit the sorcerer who screamed and this time Arthur knew he was dead.

The force of the spell sent Merlin over the edge, Arthur, still in arm's reach, grabbed at the young man but only managed to grab his handkerchief. For a brief second Merlin's eyes, glazed with pain, met Arthur's, and Arthur nearly gasped at the pain he felt emanating from them, not just physical but emotional and then the kerchief came undone from Merlin's neck. Arthur grasped for his friend and grabbed his hand but it was slick with sweat and slipped through his fingers and he could only watch as Merlin fell and disappeared in the clouds.

Arthur stared in shock, Merlin was gone.

~.~.~.~

**AN: Not every chapter is going to be this long but I wanted to get to the part where Merlin falls. . . I'm not pretending this story isn't predictable so umm… I hope you still like it!**

**God bless!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Betrayal

**AN: Woah! Thirty messages in my inbox overnight… turns out I only needed to write a story with angst in the description ;) Thanks to everyone who read, favorite, or reviewed!**

**Arthur's grief over Merlin's death has been written in many different ways and I tried to do my best with it here but I'm not really sure how well I did. I'll explain more my reasoning for his actions at the end of the fic since I don't want to spoil anything but I know you guys are probably eager to read the chapter so here it is!**

Arthur stared down into the clouds where Merlin had disappeared for a long time. "No." He whispered over and over again and then he screamed. "NO!" His fist pounded into the ground and he could feel his knuckles start to split and bleed but he hit the rock several more times.

His mind kept replaying that moment over and over again.

"_No, I don't trust you, and I will never be able to trust you again."_

Those were the last words he would ever say to his closest friend, in that moment, as he stared he knew they were a lie. He trusted Merlin more than anyone else, if anyone else had admitted to magic there was no way he would have trusted them, but Merlin was different, and Merlin he trusted completely.

After his initial fit of rage he sat staring for what seemed like forever. He heard footsteps come up behind him and it was sheer will power, trying not to let Merlin's sacrifice be in vain, that forced him to grab for his sword and spin around, but his sword was still several feet away where he had thrown it.

To his relief it was only his knights and when he saw them he allowed himself to relax and let the pain of losing Merlin rush over him again. "Sire! You're alive!" Leon exclaimed smiling and while he had never been very close to Merlin he couldn't help but look around, he even let his eyes flicker to the ground, searching the bodies. Out of the corner of his eye Arthur could see the other knights doing the same.

Arthur didn't say anything, simply gripped Merlin's handkerchief, which he didn't even realize he still held, and turned, falling to his knees again by the cliff.

It was Gwaine that spoke next. "No." He whispered and ran to the edge of the cliff, peering over it as though he would be able to see Merlin and find proof of Merlin's life or death. Gwaine didn't scream like Arthur did but sank to his knees beside him, staring.

"What happened?" He asked quietly, after they had sat there several minutes. Even now Arthur could hear the emotion in the knight's voice that he couldn't quite get under control.

Arthur was still in shock over all of it himself. "I…" what could he tell them? Did he tell them Merlin had magic? Did he tell them that Merlin had betrayed him? Did he tell him that Merlin had used that magic to save Arthur in the very end? That it was really Arthur who had done the betraying?

"He saved me." Arthur found himself saying. "He saved my life."

It was all he would tell them, He sat there a while longer, Leon placed his hand on his king's shoulder tentatively, Arthur stiffened but didn't say a word. Without saying anything else he got to his feet and trudged away from the cliff leaving the others to stare. Percival placed a hand on Gwaine's shoulder and helped him to his feet as they all slowly followed Arthur, Gwaine last of all. He held his head high though the unshed tears in his eyes betrayed his sorrow.

They managed to find their horses who had all stayed together even after they had abandoned their riders. Merlin's horse was with them and they all glanced at it sadly. Elyan took the reins and guided the horse beside his own. The journey back to Camelot was long and entirely too short. Arthur didn't know what he would tell Guinevere, he didn't know what he would tell Gaius, he should send someone to tell Merlin's mother also… no he should go personally to tell Merlin's mother, along with make sure she had enough money to support herself. He knew Merlin sent nearly half of what he was paid back to his mother, that was partially the reason he wore such ratty clothes all the time even though he had one of the most coveted jobs amidst many servants.

His mind whirled with meaningless words but when they finally rode through the courtyard and he dismounted to meet his queen and confidant he couldn't bring himself to say anything.

Gwen smiled at him looking him over and then over her brother Elyan and her last gaze drifted to the empty horse and then back at Arthur with questioning eyes, the smile gone from her face. Gaius had immediately seen the empty horse and was staring at Arthur with a look pleading Arthur to tell him that his ward was alive.

Arthur didn't say anything, he couldn't speak past the lump in his throat, tears sprang to his eyes and he looked down at the ground as he shook his head. "No." Gaius whispered, his voice breaking, as Guinevere gasped her hand flying to her mouth. She hesitated only a moment before she pulled Arthur to her and he buried his head in her shoulder letting a few tears slip out.

He stood there longer than he should have but finally pushed her away, turning to Gaius. "I'm…" he looked into the man's eyes. "I'm so sorry." he said sadly. "He died a hero."

He couldn't bring himself to say Merlin's name.

Gaius stared at him, there was an anger in his eyes, though Arthur wasn't quite sure it was directed at him. "He lived a hero." Gaius corrected and took the reins of the horse pulling it towards the stable. The horse was actually one of Arthur's that he allowed Merlin to ride but it had been Merlin's favorite. She was a grumpy thing that tried to bite almost everyone, everyone except Merlin, he wasn't sure how the stable hands would handle her now.

It also had all of Merlin's belongings on it and Arthur knew Gaius would want those. He looked at Gwaine and the man nodded following after the physician, other than Arthur, Gwaine was probably Merlin's closest friend.

Arthur wrapped an arm around Guinevere and entered the castle silently. Gwen sniffed and wiped tears from her face but otherwise maintained control of herself until they were in their room alone. Gwen helped Arthur dress and remove his chain mail, something Merlin would have done if he had been there. A servant had come in and prepared a bath, something Merlin would have done. As Arthur stepped into the tub the water was just right, with Merlin it was always too hot or too cold, he bathed and Guinevere helped him change.

He sat down on the bed, her in front of him. "I can't believe he's gone." She whispered. "Not Merlin." And when she said his name he finally broke. His head fell into his hands and sobs wracked his body, he had one told Merlin that no man was worth his tears, he had said it because he had honestly believed he was going to die and he didn't want Merlin to cry over it, he didn't want his servant to hurt because of him, but Arthur knew it wasn't true. Although he didn't always cry for the men under him he knew that every single one of them was worth his tears, he had cried for his father, and now he cried for Merlin.

Not just the loss of Merlin but everything altogether, the stress of getting ambushed again, the fear of almost dying, the betrayal and shock of discovering Merlin had magic, and the pain at seeing his friend fall over the edge.

"I keep seeing it… over and over and over again." Arthur said weakly. "His face… it was so scared… so sad as he fell and I tried to grab him… God I tried… but he slipped through my fingers…and…" His voice cracked and he sobbed.

Guinevere didn't try to comfort him but wiggled her way into his arms, they lay back on the bed crying together. With Gwen he could be completely open, with Gwen he could be weak, with Gwen he could be broken and they were broken right now together.

Together they mourned the loss of their friend.

No one bothered them, Merlin's funeral wouldn't be till tomorrow, but Arthur would make sure he was honored as a hero, tonight they lay in each other's arms for hours, not speaking for the longest time. Finally Gwen did speak.

"Can you tell me what happened?" She asked.

He thought about just saying the same thing he did with the knights but this was Guinevere, she knew Merlin and she knew Arthur and he needed to tell someone.

"I betrayed him, and he was loyal to the end, even sacrificing his life to save mine." Arthur snorted and told himself it was the grief. "That _idiot_." And even Gwen had to smile at the fond insult Arthur always called Merlin.

"What do you mean you betrayed him?" She asked frowning slightly. They were now sitting in bed, her at one corner at the end of the bed, him leaning against the bed frame in the opposite corner.

He stared at her as though he didn't know what to say and it definitely didn't come out as he had planned. "Merlin has magic."

Gwen stared at him as though he had two heads. "Merlin?" she asked. He nodded in response.

"And he is… was powerful too." Arthur's voice cracked. Guinevere continued to stare at him as if wondering if her husband was going crazy from grief. Arthur sighed leaning his head back, it bumped into the headboard and it hurt but it cleared his head some.

"We were surrounded by mercenaries and sorcerers, there must have been three to four dozen." Gwen was holding her breath but didn't interrupt the story. "He…" Arthur faltered. "He asked me if I trusted him. I said I did. But then he asked me if I would trust him if he did something crazy… like use magic… I said I didn't know. He unleashed his magic… it was terrifying… and amazing… he single-handedly defeated the sorcerers and most of the mercenaries and when it was over I…" he stopped feeling the lump return to his throat and tears return to his eyes.

Gwen reached a hand out and placed it over Arthur's, encouraging him to go on. He raised his head and looked her in the eye. Merlin had been her friend, as much as he trusted her he couldn't help but wonder if she would be disappointed in him, if she would be angry at the way he had treated her friend. But he had to tell someone and Guinevere was the only one he trusted nearly as much as Merlin. "I screamed at him. I told him that I didn't trust him and never would again."

Her face fell but she didn't look surprised. He couldn't look her in the eyes then. "And after that, he saved me, one of the sorcerers was still alive and he tried to kill me and Merlin pushed me out of the way…" Arthur's voice faltered again. "He was badly injured and with the last bit of effort he had he destroyed the sorcerer but the force of it pushed him over the edge of the cliff… I… I tried to grab him…I really tried…" He looked at her, his guilt evident on his face, "You should have seen the look he gave me as he fell, it was so resigned, it was like he was … giving up… and the last words I ever said to him…oh god..." Arthur dropped his head in his hands and shook. Guinevere's gentle hand reached out and pulled his hands down, with her other hand she raised his head to look at her.

She stared at him but she didn't look shocked or disappointed or angry. "Arthur, magic has wronged you in many ways, it has stolen your mother, your father, your sister, even Aggravaine fell prey to its charms in his own way. You have been betrayed time and time again, it is entirely understandable that you would lash out in anger at such news, you couldn't have known those would be the last words you would say to him." He wondered how she could stay so calm after discovering everything she had.

He stared at her long and hard, trying to believe what she said was truth but he couldn't do it, "Even in the end he was loyal to me, Guinevere, and I betrayed that. No matter the excuse, I can never forgive myself."

She wanted to dissuade this thinking, she wanted to tell him he was wrong, but she knew there was nothing she could say that would make him change his mind. "Merlin would have forgiven you. He has forgiven you, I'm sure of it." It was a last ditch effort but as she looked into his eyes she realized she hadn't made it any better.

Arthur looked away and reached to the side of his bed holding Merlin's kerchief in his hands winding it around his fingers and Guinevere watched him tear himself apart inside knowing she couldn't do anything to fix this. It was Merlin who had always dealt with an angry, guilty Arthur. He had been so good at distracting him, he was the only one who could get Arthur out of his own head sometimes, Guinevere didn't know how the kingdom would cope without him, let alone Arthur.

~.~.~.~

Merlin's funeral was attended mostly by knights and a few nobles. Arthur honestly had expected there to be more servants there and was surprised when he didn't really find that many. He asked Guinevere about this and she only smiled.

"He spent so much time with you, Arthur, he didn't really have time to make friends amidst the staff. In fact most of them were quite annoyed with him." She laughed as if remembering some personal joke. "He was always causing them trouble."

In the end Arthur decided not to publicly announce Merlin's magic. He didn't want rumor getting out that he had been enchanted or something crazy like that or to put any sort of taint on Merlin's reputation. But all that he learned lead him to believe that he had been wrong, magic was not the evil he thought it to be and for Merlin's sake he would do his best to show the rest of his kingdom that as well. He told his knights, those closest to Merlin. Gwaine, Elyan, Percival, even Leon and he did pull Gaius aside and tell him everything that happened, including his distrust in Merlin and Merlin's unwavering loyalty. Gaius, as always, was sad but understanding. Gaius didn't tell Arthur much about Merlin. The sorcerer's death was too recent, it was too painful to drag up the memories, but he did tell him that he had been protecting Arthur for a long time, as long as he had known him, since that day he pulled Arthur out of the way of the dagger. Arthur had figured this out already in his head but it helped to have the words said out loud. Arthur went to hand the handkerchief back to Gaius but he refused saying that Merlin would want Arthur to have it.

Arthur wasn't sure if he was glad of that or not, on the one hand it was his last hold of his dearest friend, on the other it was a constant reminder of the look in Merlin's eyes as he had fallen, but as the day wore on and he dealt with the stresses of the day he constantly fingered it in his pocket and decided it was a comfort, like having Merlin there with him.

When the empty pyre was lit he went to place it in the flames, but once again found that he could not part with it. He stepped back wrapping it around his wrist and tying it in place. No one noticed this action, they were too focused on saying their own goodbyes, and so neither did anyone notice the hooded figure disappear from the corner of the courtyard.

**AN: So in my opinion Arthur wouldn't lose control like a lot of people think he would. He would be greatly changed from that day on but he is king and he is king for a reason. He's lost a lot of good men, good friends, and good knights. He's used to loss and while Merlin is different because they were so close and he trusted him so much I still don't believe he would lose that control (screaming, crying, throwing a tantrum etc.) in front of his subjects. I liked the idea of him and Guinevere having a private grieving moment together. I really don't think Arthur trusted anyone as much as he trusted Merlin, even Gwen because she had betrayed him before but she comes closest after him.**

**So I hope this chapter hasn't totally ruined any expectations and that you plan to keep reading!**

**God bless!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Questions

**AN: For the record I have never been this popular… Thanks to everyone following and everyone leaving a review! Love reviews! Here's the next chapter.**

It had been a month since Merlin's funeral. Arthur had yet to leave the castle and was getting antsy and agitated. Everyone noticed, especially Guinevere. After snapping at many of the council members and storming out of the room Guinevere met him in his room.

He was seething, pacing back and forth, it was more than feeling boxed in, she knew, it was not having Merlin around. No one could calm Arthur's temper better than Merlin, not because he had a naturally calming effect but because he was very good at distracting Arthur from his tormenting thoughts, he kept Arthur down to earth. Still Gwen was convinced getting out of the castle would be good for him.

He sat down at his desk looking over some papers after pacing himself out. She came up behind him and massaged his shoulders. "Arthur, was that really necessary." she asked. He deflated at her tone and the feeling of her hands on his shoulder.

"No." he said. "I'm just…"

"Restless? Edgy? Agitated?" Gwen asked. Arthur nodded. She came around and sat in a chair near the desk.

"Why don't you go on a hunt?" She asked. "You haven't been on one in ages and it always has helped calm you before."

Arthur tensed as she spoke and shook his head. "No." He said and went back to his papers. Gwen was slightly affronted and hurt as she could practically see the walls he threw up in front of him but then realization hit her. It had always been Merlin and him on those hunts, just the two of them, at least when he was a prince, after he became king more had joined them, a necessary precaution, but still Merlin was always with him and hunting was sort of their special thing, Arthur forcing Merlin to go and Merlin complaining the whole way and secretly, or not so secretly, ruining it for Arthur. She knew he didn't like hunting innocent animals and that many times… in fact most times, they wouldn't even catch anything, she knew that wasn't why Arthur had gone even if he hadn't realized it at the time.

"How about a patrol then? It would do the men good to see you show interest in them." She encouraged. Arthur looked up at her, looking like he wanted to protest but at the same time itching to get out of the castle, finally he nodded.

She smiled. "Good. It will be good for you. I promise." She said smiling. He smiled back though it didn't quite reach his eyes, it never did anymore. Merlin had been the final straw, he had lost so many close to him, worse had been betrayed by so many and while he believed Merlin had his best interests at heart he was still hurt over the fact that he had never told him, now he was broken, Merlin was gone and he was closing off his heart, afraid to lose any more.

~.~.~.~

A few days later he was out on a patrol with his men. It felt good to be in the fresh air at first and he savored it, but when he heard a ruckus behind him he turned automatically a smile on his face, only to see that one of the knights had dropped their pack and was scrambling off the horse to get it.

The smile fell off his face and he turned his attention back to the front. Even now he couldn't get the idiot out of his head. He still heard him in the castle, every dropped plate was Merlin, every time his curtains were pulled back he saw his servant for just a moment before it morphed into the face of a stranger. Sometimes he felt like he could still hear Merlin teasing him. He thought he would go crazy from it so it was a relief when Guinevere suggested he got out, but his memories followed him.

So wrapped up in his thoughts Arthur didn't notice the snake in the grass until it was too late. His horse reared throwing its rider. The horse behind him with a knight on it reared as well over Arthur's head and brought his feet down to crush Arthur's skull.

Arthur threw his hands up but that was all he could do, surprised when the horse's feet landed a few inches from his head. Counting it as a stroke of luck but knowing he wasn't out of danger yet he jumped to his feet and tried to grab for his horse's reins only to be knocked back, trip over a root and fall down into a ditch, somehow landing in a soft pile of leaves out of sight of his knights for a moment.

Just as Arthur was wondering how much worse his luck could get a branch large enough to crush him fell straight for him, he once again covered his head with his hands but heard a crack and glanced just in time to see the branch split in two and fall harmlessly on either side of him.

That was when he was convinced that something unnatural was going on. He sprang to his feet suddenly battle ready, but his sword was with his horse. He scrambled up the ditch and grasped the hand of a knight that had appeared to help him. He looked around but the strange occurrences had stopped. His eyes continued to search the forest and he thought he saw a dark figure out of the corner of his eye but when he looked there was nothing there.

He relaxed only slightly. "We should move on from this place." He suggested and all the other knights, who were looking around warily, agreed mounting their horses once again and moving on. There were no other instances that patrol and Arthur was left with more questions than answers.

~.~.~.~

Similar things continued to happen when he was on patrols or away from the castle. On a journey to visit an important dignitary he had been ambushed by bandits in the foreign land. While he and his knights had been able to handle most of them Arthur was sure that a few arrows had been heading straight for him and suddenly changed direction. There were also several bandits stabbed with their own swords, trapped under tree rubble, and even one impaled by a branch.

It was quite strange really and while part of Arthur just brushed it off he couldn't help but glancing into the tree lines a little more often. Weeks passed this way and Arthur found himself leaving the castle more often to satisfy his curiosity. Sure enough the strange occurrences continued happening. It wasn't until two months later though when he was leading an attack on some slavers in the area, that he got his first glimpse of his magical guardian angel.

He had been surrounded by four men, defeated three of them and had missed blocking a blow from the last one, just as he was sure he was going to die the man suddenly fell to the ground, a burning gaping hole in his back.

Arthur looked up and saw a man standing a good distance away. His palm outstretched. The man wore a leather trench coat with a hood covering his face but Arthur could see his eyes light up from magic all the way from here.

The man stood and stared at him a moment, knowing he had been found out and Arthur wondering for a second if he was going to kill him, but he just turned and walked away. Arthur wanted to go after him but was honestly too shocked.

"Sire, are you alright?" Someone shouted and Arthur was jerked from his reverie. When he looked back the sorcerer was gone, no trace of him could be found.

**AN: Hmmm… I wonder who it could be? ;)**

**So I don't know if anyone actually uses Aol Instant Messenger anymore but I'm on my email all the time and I have it up. If anyone is interested in messaging me my UN is stargatefreak62. It would be cool to talk to some of my fans and get their opinions on my story :)**

**We'll see if this blows up in my face with way to many messages haha.**

**God bless!**


	4. Chapter 4 - In the Shadows

**AN: Loving the reviews! Keep them coming!**

From then on Arthur kept a closer eye out and now that he knew what he was looking for he could see the figure whenever he was in danger but he never saw how the man got there and didn't know why he was protecting him. He tried to find him discreetly, he didn't want to reveal the man as magic was still technically outlawed even if it wasn't punishable by death anymore.

Arthur was working on that, working on getting the people to accept magic but it would be a long process, one that could not be sped up. Someday he would legalize magic and he looked forward to that day but he didn't want to wait that long to discover who his protector was as time progressed he began to realize that he couldn't find the man, he couldn't very well go chasing after him during a battle while his knights were fighting for their lives and as soon as the battle was over the man was nowhere to be found, he was like a ghost.

It was almost a year after Merlin's death that Arthur finally got a more personal introduction. Despite the knights and Arthur's best efforts they had been separated and Arthur injured, a sword having sliced through the chainmail on his upper arm and cutting a gash near his knee causing him to limp.

He fell to the ground waiting for the final blow but at the same time believing that it would never come, as he fell he hit his head and was met with a fuzzy consciousness. He remembered someone coming, he remembered his arm being slung around someone's shoulders as he was dragged away from the battle scene, but the rest of his memory was fuzzy at best.

When he came to he was lying in a cave, the hooded figure was a few feet away sitting by the fire. Arthur felt like he should be nervous but he wasn't, he felt quite relaxed so he just lay there taking stock of his injuries.

The cut to his arm was superficial, the blow to his head had been enough to knock him out and give him a headache but seemed not to serious, the gash to his knee was another story. Arthur wondered if he would be able to walk on it just yet.

The figure didn't look at him. "You've grown careless." The deep unfamiliar voice reverberated through the cave. "You expect too much of me. Even I can only protect you marginally from a distance."

Arthur frowned, the first word out of this man had been an insult, it hadn't really been what Arthur was expecting after months of waiting to meet him. "Who are you?" He asked.

The man stiffened. "It's not important." He mumbled.

"It is to me." Arthur quipped back.

The man looked at him but his face remained in shadow. "You think that after all you've seen me do with magic that I would reveal myself to you?" The hostility in the man's voice caused Arthur to pause.

"I have tried to make my kingdom a just one since my ruling. Why do you distrust me?"

The man snorted and turned back to look at the small fire. "Magic is still outlawed." He said though Arthur got the distinct feeling there was something more personal.

Arthur wasn't about to tell this man all the plans he had, he hadn't told some of his closest advisors that, why would he tell a random stranger that he wasn't even completely sure he could trust.

"So you will not reveal your identity to me?" Arthur asked.

The man shook his head. "No. A few words will not convince me. Not after all that has happened."

"Surely you do not blame me for my father's actions?" Arthur begged.

"No I blame you for yours!" The man's voice was raised, not shouting, but dangerous, causing Arthur to flinch. "Uther betrayed many but you have betrayed some close to you as well."

Arthur's face drained of all color, Merlin's face popped into his mind, but how could this man know of that. "What do you know?" He asked his voice a whisper.

The man stumbled as though he said something he shouldn't have, he started to say several things before his voice returned with more determination. "Did you check and make sure all the men were dead before you left that cliff?" He asked and Arthur knew exactly what he was talking about.

"No." Arthur responded. "Are you one of those men?" He asked feeling his anger returning, those men were the reason Merlin was dead.

"No." The man's word brought relief to Arthur. How could he choose between seeking justice for his best friend and forgiving his protector? "But I have heard the rumors." The man said. "He saved your life and you spurned him for it."

Arthur didn't have a response and even as he tried to think of one the man walked towards the opening of the cave. "I'll make sure to direct one of the patrols searching for you in this direction." The man said.

"At least give me something to call you!" He called out, if he had to keep calling this man 'the hooded figure' in his head he was going to go crazy. The man looked back at him, thinking, "Call me… Emrys." He said and then he was gone.

"Emrys…" Arthur whispered. Why did he feel like he had heard that name before?

**AN: Dun dun DUNNN! Yeah like you didn't see that coming :) Still you sometimes just gotta love predictable stories right?**


	5. Chapter 5 - Just Talk

**AN: So what do you guys think? Is Emrys really Merlin or just someone carrying on his legacy? That would be an interesting twist to the title Emrys, which we all know means immortal, perhaps not that the person themselves was immortal but that their legacy would be immortal… huh… I kind of like that… I honestly am not sure how I'm going to end this… keeping you on your toes :)**

Arthur had snuck out by himself late at night. It was a risky move, after all he was the king of Camelot and many wanted him dead for one stupid reason or another but it had been months since he had seen Emrys and his mind was still reeling with questions. Somehow he always knew the man would follow him, wherever he was.

Arthur used to leave the castle alone all the time… well not alone, Merlin was there but at the time he hadn't been counted as much protection, though now that Arthur thought about it he was probably the most protection Arthur had even surrounded by a dozen knights.

He walked deep into the forest, he heard someone following him. He wondered if Emrys wanted to be found, he had never been able to find evidence of the sorcerer before, but maybe that was because there were so many others with him and he didn't hear the quiet twig snaps and leaf crackles with others tromping through the forest around him.

He turned around. "I know you're there." He stated. "Show yourself, Emrys."

There was a pause and then the hooded figure stepped out and Arthur couldn't help the slight smile that came to his face.

"What are you doing out here alone, your highness?" The voice asked warily.

"I wanted to speak to you." Arthur stated, might as well tell the truth.

The man stared at him from the darkness of his hood and then turned to leave. "Wait." Arthur called but didn't expect the man to actually stop. He did though and turned back to look at Arthur.

"I just want to talk." He stated. "I won't ask you who you are. You're in no danger from me."

The man hesitated and Arthur waited with held breath. He couldn't stand not knowing this man. He didn't understand why someone he didn't know would be protecting him and he wanted to learn more.

Finally the man walked towards Arthur and they fell in step together, walking through the forest. "What do you want to talk about?" Emrys asked kind of awkwardly.

Arthur had plenty of questions he wanted to ask. "You've made it clear to me that you don't trust me, that you probably don't even like me." The man tensed but didn't respond waiting for Arthur to continue. "So why do you protect me?" He asked.

The man thought carefully about his answer. Arthur guessed it wasn't that he didn't know he just didn't want to reveal too much to Arthur lest he figure out who he is. "Your manservant believed that you would be a great king, that you would restore magic and unite the lands."

Arthur felt his heart twist. "You knew Merlin?" He asked and the man twitched at the name in response.

"Just a little. He was devoted only to you." The man said and it almost seemed like a jibe at the king. Emrys knew Arthur had betrayed Merlin and Arthur could tell there was bitterness because of that.

Arthur nodded. "I know." He cleared his throat eager to change the subject. "How long have you been practicing magic?"

The man again thought carefully of his answer. "My whole life I've been learning about magic, my father had magic, and his father before him." Arthur nodded and continued to ask questions about the man and about magic.

In truth he didn't know why he was asking, possibly to learn more about his protector but part of him just longed for the companionship. He hadn't been able to open up to the people in Camelot quite as well as he had hoped, since Merlin had died he had been searching for that companionship and maybe part of him hoped that this man could give it, still there was something missing and Arthur knew in his aching heart that it was a futile search, no one could replace the friendship he had with Merlin.

Emrys suddenly stopped, his fists clenching, his whole body stiffening. He bent over ever so slightly and Arthur could nearly hear his teeth grinding together as he grunted slightly in pain.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked reaching out for the man but deciding against it.

Emrys didn't respond at first, eventually the pain seemed to recede and the man straightened breathing a little harder than normal. "An old injury that flares up from time to time." The man said. When he looked up at Arthur and Arthur still looked worried he continued. "I believe you came across the sorcerer Eros."

The name sent a surprising wave of anger through Arthur and this time he was the one to stiffen and clench his fists. "He was the one who killed Merlin." He said his voice amazingly even.

Emrys nodded. "Then Merlin's death was a painful one." He said, another jibe, and Arthur felt his heart tear but Emrys didn't seem to notice, "Eros' magic was twisted and broken, his spells caused far greater pain than that of most sorcerers."

Arthur watched him. "You fought with him?"

Emrys nodded. "Barely escaped with my life, but not completely unscathed."

"The wound still pains you?" Arthur asked.

"Yes." Emrys said. "Some scars never stop hurting." He said the last part as a whisper and Arthur thought it had more meaning behind it than the man was letting on. "This one has been healing slower than I would like."

Arthur and Emrys walked for some time before Arthur spoke again. "You believe the same thing Merlin believes?" He asked. "That I will unite the lands and… restore magic?" He hesitated on the last statement, not wanting to give anything away, he had been betrayed by far too many people to explain his plans to someone who wouldn't even show his face to Arthur.

Emrys was silent for so long Arthur wondered if he had even heard the question. "You have… potential." He looked at Arthur, the shadow of his hood completely veiling his face as always and Arthur wondered if he was using magic to keep the shadow in place. "Merlin never would have given up on you. He never did till the day he died, I suppose I still believe in your destiny as well."

Arthur was more moved by the words than he let on and quickly turned his eyes back to where his feet were going. "I'm not sure I deserve such faith."

There was a sound that _**almost**_ sounded like a laugh from the darkened hood. "It is for that reason that you even have the potential, sire." It was the first time Emrys had addressed Arthur in such a way that Arthur didn't hear any sarcasm or bitterness behind the title.

Emrys suddenly stopped. "This is as far as I go." he said.

Arthur looked around, surprised to see that they had looped back around and were once again near the castle. He stared at it a moment trying to figure out how they had gotten here so quickly and when he looked back Emrys was gone and Arthur felt a pain he didn't understand.

**AN: It could be Merlin… then again… it could be someone completely different right? What do you think? Which direction would be more interesting to you? I think I've decided which one I'm headed…**

**Hope you enjoyed! Leave a review!**

**God bless!**


	6. Chapter 6 - The Man Called Emrys

**AN: So this chapter was totally unplanned, I just wrote it, I like it but now I'm going to have to go and rewrite the next few chapters so the time between posts might take a little longer than normal. Hope you enjoy this one, only two more chapters until we find out who Emrys is :)**

The dark figure entered the compound silently, using his magic to mask the sounds of his footsteps. The man known as Emrys watched carefully for any sentries or guards that might be waiting but he found no one. Despite what Arthur thought Emrys was not waiting outside Camelot at all times waiting for Arthur to get into trouble. Yes, he did spend the majority of his time there but oftentimes he had to protect Arthur in other ways and couldn't hang around.

This was one of those times. Some of his contacts had heard rumors of a gang of bandits forming under the direction of a sorcerer whose intent was to kill Arthur. If that was true Emrys knew Arthur was in danger.

He had found out that this compound was their base of operations but as he walked through the deserted building he met no one. As he continued to move towards the center his mind drifted slightly.

It had been almost two years since he had become Arthur's stealthy protector. He was honestly surprised that Arthur had taken so keenly to him after. . .He shook his head, if he allowed his thoughts to go down that road he would get too distracted. He had often thought about revealing himself to Arthur, showing Arthur who he really as, but he didn't trust the king after what he had done… Arthur seemed to trust him though, for some reason, it was ridiculous really, trusting a man he had never seen after he had scorned the one who had served him for years.

_Stop!_ His mind shouted at him. He shook his head and focused again on his surroundings, he was standing in front of two large doors, he pushed one open carefully and entered. There was a large empty room and standing in the middle of it, a man.

"Hello." The man said smiling evilly. There was a time when Emrys believed that smiles couldn't be evil… how wrong he was.

"You must be Orson." Emrys said striding into the room, his dark hood hiding his face.

"I must be." The man replied, Emrys could feel the magic this man possessed, more powerful than the average sorcerer even if he couldn't feel it he would be able to tell from the way the man held himself.

"I know what you're planning." Emrys spoke.

"Do you?" The man asked. He seemed calm, too calm.

"You're planning on trapping Arthur. You've been planning this for weeks, months. Attacking villages so that he will be forced to ride out and help, well it's not going to work. Arthur is protected." Emrys said smiling smugly even though Orson couldn't see it.

Orson smiled and took a step towards Emrys. "I've been planning this for a long time." he said as he began to walk in a circle around the hooded man. "I didn't throw this together willy nilly. The group of men I put together are not just a gang of bandits but men specially chosen for their hatred towards Arthur, some because of his persecution of magic, some for other reasons. Arthur and his knights have been watched, their fighting style is well known and has been the study of these men for nearly two years."

Emrys held his breath as he listened, Orson stopped after completing a full circle and stood in front of him, "If I watched Arthur that closely, do you really think that I wouldn't have noticed his secret protector, Emrys?" Orson blinked innocently at Emrys who felt his breath hitch. The man chuckled and then continued his circle. "But tell me something before I kill you. This something has been plaguing me for some time, I was under the impression that Emrys was killed on the cliff top of Orest, how did you survive?"

Emrys glared at the man. "The boy, Merlin, died that day, but Emrys is immortal, you will never defeat him. As long as Arthur lives he will be protected and so will his legacy after he dies of old age."

The man smiled. "Well I suppose I can take joy in the thought that Merlin died a painful death after what he did to my brother, it seems my brother exacted his justice after all."

There was silence from under the hood as Emrys thought. "Your brother?"

Orson nodded his face serious, still circling making Emrys a little dizzy, "Oh yes, my brother and I were connected by more than blood but by magic as well. We complimented each other perfectly and worked very well together. Unfortunately his magic took over his own body and betrayed him, he had only days to live when he was murdered, his last hope in the world was to see Arthur dead and the freedom of his people restored."

He stopped in front of Emrys. "I believe you met him once, his name was Eros."

Emrys gasped as suddenly Orson's eyes flashed and a pain spiked through Emrys' body, emanating from the wound he received from Eros, a pain so terrible it was nearly as bad as the day he first received the injury. His knees hit the floor as he shouted in pain. Orson stepped forward, sneering in Emrys' face. "You see me and my brother, our magical abilities were brothers as well. When he unleashed his magic in someone it would not dissipate, it would stay in their skin, twisting and tearing and burning, causing the person who received the wound so much pain."

Emrys tried to breathe, if he could only just breathe then the pain would go away, tears pricked his eyes and veins bulged from his neck and forehead, the pain was so intense, he needed to breathe! "And I could use his magic even if I couldn't deliver it the same way he did. Once it found its way into a victim I could reactivate it and cause them more pain than even my brother could." Emrys fell on the ground breathing in just enough air to stay conscious but not as much as he needed. He writhed, curling in on himself, his whole body twitching as the pain intensified.

"So you see, Emrys, I planned for everything. Of course it was lucky that you managed to be injured by my brother, but if not I would have found another way to trap and kill you. Still I can think of no better death than at the hands of me and my brother, for a traitor like you." Orson sneered. "And your king will die as well, today, the anniversary of my brother's death will be the day I free this land and bring about the world my brother always dreamed of."

_Must breathe. Just breathe._ Emrys whispered to himself and finally he drew in a breath enough to speak, his head jerked up and he looked at Orson his eyes glowing as he shouted out the spell. The whole building shook, the ceiling fell around them. The spell broke as Orson grew distracted and Emrys collapsed as the pain all at once left his body. Hesitating only long enough to take in a gulp of air he pushed himself to his feet and ran for the door as rocks fell and tore through his clothing and scratched at his skin wherever it was visible.

He heard Orson's panicked shouting as he ran. "No! You cannot save him! Arthur Pendragon will die today by my hands! You will not defeat me, Emrys!"

The man who called himself Emrys was already out the door, he had to get to Arthur, had to save him or else all was lost. . .or else the sacrifice had been in vain.

**AN: As always please leave a review!**

**God bless!**


	7. Chapter 7 - Not Again

**AN: So . . . I'm terrible with fight scenes. . . this is my attempt but I don't pretend it's any good.**

Sometimes being a king really was the worst. How many times had he gotten in danger over the last year? He couldn't count all of them, every time Emrys had been there in the shadows ready to save him. It had now been two years since Merlin's death but the ghosts in the castle never seemed to leave Arthur.

Every morning when he awoke the servant pulling back the curtains was still Merlin, whenever something was dropped Arthur's head spun in the direction of the sound, whenever he went to get in the bath he never expected it to be perfect, and sometimes he would just get lost in thought wondering what Merlin would say to him in this situation. Merlin's kerchief was always nearby, sometimes just in a pocket, sometimes wrapped around his wrist or the hilt to his sword. Guinevere had worried over him at first but he was still able to function and soon it slipped into something that just was who Arthur was.

The only thing that really kept him sane was Emrys. Some part of their relationship filled what used to be his and Merlin's. While it didn't completely fill the hole left behind it was enough to keep him from going crazy.

He only met with Emrys a few times that year, mostly at times when he was struggling with some decision. The words Emrys gave him reminded him of the few times when Merlin had been wise. They didn't joke or bicker like Merlin and Arthur used too though, occasionally, Arthur fell into that out of habit Emrys never returned it.

Still sometimes when he found himself in trouble he couldn't help but be glad for a moment because that meant he would see Emrys, if only a glimpse. He had heeded the sorcerer's warning and always kept his guard up and fought as hard as he could, he couldn't rely completely on Emrys to protect him, he had to do some of the work himself.

This time was a little different. Arthur was distracted today, it was exactly two years since Merlin's death and Arthur found that every single thing reminded him of his former manservant. He had tried to keep today free of any responsibilities, but you didn't really get vacation time as the king.

He was traveling to a town not far from the castle which was being attacked by bandits and knowing this he really should have remained more aware but he couldn't get Merlin's dumb voice out of his head. He could hear his laughter, him chiding Arthur on going on this mission for one reason or another, or complaining because he was tired of riding a horse, calling Arthur a fat prat.

And so he didn't see the man in the tree that was actually quite obvious if he had been paying attention, and he didn't hear the sound of the crossbow being loaded until he was knocked from his horse by the small bolt grazing his shoulder. He knew where the man had been aiming and was glad he had missed.

One of his knights dispatched the man but they were then surrounded by many more bandits and Arthur grimaced as he pushed himself up. He leaned against a tree as he pulled his sword out but was having great difficulty as the sheath had bent when he fell.

A sword sliced at his leg, cutting it but not deeply. Arthur dove off the road to the ditch in the side, allowing gravity to pull him away from his attackers. Once he stopped rolling he reached for his sword only to see that it was gone. He looked up the incline and saw it lying there. "Oh now you come loose!" He growled at the piece of metal as he tried to army crawl back towards the sword but his pursuers were already moving towards him, a little more slowly than he had rolled down the ravine.

He finally realized he wouldn't reach his sword in time. He frantically looked around trying to find something, anything to help. He picked up a rock and threw it with deadly aim at the first bandit's head and then picked up a branch which he used to fight off the others.

He managed to get a hold of one of their swords and more fell around him but there were too many. Suddenly he wasn't alone, a back was pressed against his and he knew immediately who it was. "Took you long enough!" Arthur joked automatically, he expected Emrys not to reply as he normally did but was surprised when he heard the sorcerer's voice.

"Didn't want to ruin all your fun!" The man said back and Arthur glanced at him despite everything going on, he could just barely see the bottom of the man's mouth below his hood, his chin was scruffy with a dark beard and he was smiling but that was all Arthur got in that one glance before he was forced back to the battle.

"These are not bandits." Emrys shouted at him. "They're men, chosen and trained to kill you by a sorcerer."

Arthur groaned. "So it was a trap?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Grreat." Arthur mumbled. "Where is the sorcerer?" He asked.

"I don't know." Emrys responded. "I can… feel him near."

Arthur thought he should probably question how Emrys knew all this information but he was surprised at the trust he felt towards the sorcerer. He didn't think that the man had been working with the bandits, in fact, it didn't even cross his mind.

The battle was still going on at the top of the hill even after they defeated the ones in the ditch. Arthur could tell what Emrys had meant by trained, it was like they knew his every move, it made it very difficult to fight them but with Emrys fighting beside him they had managed to defeat them. They both turned to scramble up the incline but Arthur hesitated when Emrys stumbled behind him. He turned to look at him, getting a full look at him from the front for the first time.

His clothes were in tatters and he was covered in small wounds, he had obviously been in a fight. "What happened to you?" Arthur asked frowning as he turned back to help the sorcerer up the slope.

"Well, apparently that sorcerer has a bone to pick with you, and therefore I had a bone to pick with him." The man joked.

Arthur was once again too surprised by his light tone to respond. He took Emrys by an uninjured part of his arm and helped heft him up the slope. None of the injuries appeared to be life threatening. "After this is over I'll take you back to Camelot. Our court physician can patch you up."

"No!" The man said and his voice didn't quite sound the same, not just the tone but the actual voice wasn't as Arthur knew it should be, he then began to wonder if the man had been disguising his voice the whole time. It would only make sense, he supposed, if he hid his face why not his voice to, and who knew what magic could accomplish.

"Everything you've done for me, you deserve something, at least allow me to send for Gaius if you won't return with me." Arthur insisted.

The man breathed, they were just reaching the top of the ditch and he didn't have time to respond. The battle had gone quiet, only two or three knights remained, none of which were part of Arthur's personal circle of friends but still good men nonetheless, surrounding one man and by the wide berth they were giving him Arthur guessed who he was.

The man had his back to them but turned as he heard them coming up the slope. "Ah King Arthur." The man smiled. "And his pet sorcerer, Emrys."

Arthur heard Emrys growl beside him, probably not enjoying being called a 'pet.' "This is your last chance, Orson leave now and maybe I'll let you live."

Arthur didn't gape at Emrys like he wanted too. Obviously he had already been in a scuffle with this sorcerer and lost. How could he act so confidently? Then again there were many times when Arthur himself had put on a false bravado so he knew the drill.

Orson laughed. "You're concern for your king is touching, _traitor_, but I will not be swayed from my objective so easily. My brother died for this cause and now you will die as well." Arthur frowned as his mind worked, trying to figure out who this guy was, but he seemed done talking.

With that he unleashed a bolt of magic towards Arthur. Emrys held up a hand and a golden shield blocked the deadly bit of magic as Arthur was thrown into a world of déjà vu. Orson threw the knights back with a flash of his eyes, every one of them knocked unconscious. It was just Orson, Arthur, and Emrys. Arthur glanced at Emrys trying to keep a wary eye on his protector. He knew that Emrys was just as bound and determined to protect him as Merlin had been, he wasn't about to let the same thing happen again.

Orson's eyes flashed again and Arthur felt himself thrown to the side away from Emrys and Orson once again tried to kill him. This was getting annoying. Emrys' eyes flashed however and a shield appeared even from a distance.

Orson glared at Emrys as Emrys sent an attack of his own. He seemed to realize that the only way to get to Arthur was by killing Emrys first. Orson's eyes flashed and Arthur watched as Emrys stiffened and shuddered, his hands trembling before clenching into fists tightly. Orson's eyes widened and the gold left his eyes, Arthur saw Emrys' body relax and frowned, what had Orson done to him?

Orson blinked and then smiled but Arthur could tell he was a little shaken. "Your resolve is impressive, Emrys. What did Arthur do to receive such loyalty from you? What did he do that you would be willing to endure so much pain?" Orson was completely focused on Emrys, not even glancing at Arthur which made Arthur a little angry. Did he really think Arthur wasn't still a threat?

He inched closer and closer to Emrys, Orson suddenly remembering him threw a flash of lightning. A barrier lit up in front of Arthur blocking the attack but before Emrys could do anything else Arthur saw another bolt heading towards his friend. _No… not again._ This was not happening again, Arthur wouldn't let it happen again. He wasn't going to lose another friend. He wasn't going to let another man sacrifice himself for Arthur. He jumped the rest of the distance between the two sorcerers pushing Emrys out of the way.

The lightning just grazed his shoulder causing Arthur to shout as he fell to the ground. He heard Emrys roar. _Do all magical men roar_? He wondered to himself as he hit the ground dazed. Emrys' rage seemed to fuel him as he stepped around Arthur's body and sent attack after attack at Orson, driving the man back. Orson maneuvered himself so that the three of them formed a triangle, Arthur still lying on the ground. He reached down towards his boot for the dagger he always kept there.

Orson's eyes flashed again and Arthur saw Emrys stiffen and the beam of light that had been stretching out of from his raised hand disappeared as he cried out. Orson wasn't looking at Arthur as he smiled at Emrys whose knees were beginning to buckle, he fell to the ground and onto his side, his whole body twitching and convulsing. Arthur watched in horror, he didn't know what Orson was doing to Emrys but he had to stop it. "Did you think that was all the pain I had to offer?" Orson asked. "Amazed as I was at your ability to resist the pain I can make it feel far worse than my brother ever did."

Orson was distracted, this was Arthur's chance. He lifted the dagger with his left hand since his right arm was injured, he was a better throw with his right hand but he could throw better than most people with his left. He took a breath before launching it through the air, it flew towards Orson and looked like it would be right on target. At the last moment Orson saw the dagger coming from the corner of his eye. He ducked out of the way, the knife just barely missing, Arthur slumped in defeat but noticed that Emrys wasn't convulsing anymore, Arthur had to keep Orson distracted. He looked around and spotted a sword, picking it up he threw it at the sorcerer with both hands feeling the pain in his right shoulder. Orson stopped it midair, it turned and began to point at Arthur, he looked over at Emrys who lay limp on the ground. Orson smiled as the sword turned to face Arthur completely.

"Emrys cannot save you now, Arthur." He said. "Finally my brother's dream will come true. You will die and our people will be free." Arthur glared at the man, refusing to respond to him. He could beg for his life, ask the man to reconsider, try to convince him that he was making the wrong choice, but he knew it would all be futile, so he just glared.

"Don't have anything to say?" The man goaded, "That's fine. I don't have anything I want to hear from you. Goodbye, Arthur Pendragon." Arthur flinched as the man began to move his hand. He took a deep breath and stared him straight in the eyes, he wouldn't let this man see him break. Just when he was sure he would be seeing Merlin again there was suddenly a smoking hole in Orson's chest. Arthur's eyes glanced towards Emrys who stood behind Orson with an outstretched hand. Arthur stared and gritted his teeth, more memories of Merlin resurfacing, Merlin burning, Merlin staring, Merlin falling. Orson looked down at his chest with wide eyes which then rolled back into his head before he collapsed, the sword he had held suspended collapsed a few feet away from Arthur.

Arthur shut his eyes against the memory but they snapped back open as Emrys stomped towards him and shouted three words that Arthur would never forget.

"You royal prat!"

**AN: Is it Merlin? Probably… but I could still torture my readers and come up with an excuse muahahaha… will I? Well… you'll just have to tune into the next chapter. Besides… the most exciting part about the story is seeing how Arthur will react to the identity of his mysterious protector right? **

**I promise by the end of the next chapter both the readers and Arthur will fully know Emrys' true identity.**

**God bless!**


	8. Chapter 8 - Revelations

**AN: AUGH! I'm SO sorry! I've had this prepared since Friday but didn't get a chance to post it before I went out of town… I promise I'm not evil but I have no internet connection where I was at!**

**So I'm really excited to reveal this next chapter to you, I hope that after all the suspense I did it justice and I'm not going to say anything else because I know you just want me to shut up so you can read it...**

**Enjoy!**

"You royal prat!" The sorcerer yelled, now his voice wasn't disguised at all and Arthur listened to each word that poured out of his mouth in awe. "I had everything under control! How am I supposed to protect you when you decide to be idiotic and jump in front of magical lightning bolts?"

Arthur just stared at him but Emrys continued to flail his hands wildly. "Seriously! Don't you think I have enough difficulties with some clotpole prince insisting on joining every rescue mission! Like he doesn't have knights to take care of that! But no, not noble King Arthur, he has to do everything himself." Emrys seemed to realize now that Arthur wasn't saying anything and his tone suddenly changed to one of worry.

He immediately leaned down inspecting the wound. "Arthur, are you alright? Arthur?" He shook Arthur from where the man lay propped on an elbow, one arm holding his injured one right below the shoulder where the damage was.

Arthur grunted and sat up, still staring at Emrys as he got to his feet. He pointed with his injured arm at Emrys, his eyes wide. "You called me a prat…" He stated.

Emrys suddenly shifted nervously from foot to foot. "Yeah… well… you are one…" He covered lamely.

"And a clotpole!" Arthur said loudly.

Emrys glanced around and turned to start leaving. "No! You don't get to leave until you tell me who you are!" Arthur said latching a hand onto Emrys' arm and hissing as it pulled at his injury, he didn't care though. For a moment… for a moment he had hoped that it was Merlin but he couldn't let himself believe that was true, and now he was angry at this man using Merlin's words.

Emrys turned his dark hooded face towards Arthur. "You forget, I have magic, I am more powerful than you."

Arthur shook his head. "You won't use it on me." He said feeling very self assured.

"I won't will I?" Emrys challenged and Arthur just shook his head, determined.

Emrys seemed to deflate in front of him but didn't say anything. He began to pull at Arthur's arm again and this time Arthur was angry, he pulled his fist back and let it fly hitting Emrys in the chin. Emrys' head snapped to the side and his hood fell down as he leaned away from Arthur. He stood like that doubled over for some time, wiping at his bleeding lip before finally standing tall. His hair was a familiar raven black and the skin on his neck was nearly white. Arthur felt himself freeze even before Emrys stood up.

"Fine." He said in a voice that Arthur recognized completely. The man finally turned his head to look at Arthur… and his face… his eyes… they stared at him with a cold searching look, there was anger, pain, and fear but those blue eyes caused Arthur's breath to hitch in his throat as he gazed at the man's face that he felt as though he was seeing for the first time but at the same time knew better than his own.

It was older, scarred, and decorated with a scraggly beard, but it was without a doubt the man he had been longing to see for the past two years.

Arthur hadn't cried when Merlin had fallen over that cliff so long ago, he had cried later, when he was alone, when he was safe in a controlled environment. That was always how it was. Now however, the feeling of amazement, shock, awe, and relief overwhelmed his senses and tears pricked the corners of his eyes.

"What are you going to do now, Arthur?" Merlin asked, his voice dripping with contempt, but underneath there was a hurt and betrayal. "Throw me in the stocks? The dungeons? Now that you know who I am are you going to have me exec—"

Merlin was cut off as suddenly Arthur grabbed Merlin by the sleeve of his shirt and pulled him into a tight embrace, ignoring the pain it brought his shoulder. He grabbed him so tight that Merlin couldn't breathe but neither could Arthur at the moment so that only seemed fair. His hands grabbed big fistfuls of the man's coat pulling him closer. Merlin's hands hesitated only a moment before they wrapped around Arthur as well holding him just as tightly. For a long time they were like that. Tears poured down Arthur's face. Finally he pushed away placing his hands on either side of Merlin's neck and holding his face just to look at him.

"You're alive!" He said. It seemed like a dumb thing to say but his mind couldn't process anything other than _Merlin's alive! _He was shaking and breathing fast despite how happy he was at that moment and he felt very dizzy. Merlin was staring at him in shock, tears already pouring down the warlock's blank face but he otherwise didn't seem to know how to respond.

"I need to sit down." Arthur said suddenly and dropped to the ground right where he stood. Merlin sat down in front of him as Arthur pulled his knees up and placed his head between them but could only keep it there a few moments before it shot up again to stare at his friend.

"You're alive." he said again this time quieter, calmer, and then his eyes flashed with hurt. "Why… why didn't you tell me?"

Merlin looked sheepish and for a moment looked just like his old self. "I thought…" He looked down at the ground. "I thought you hated me. I thought you couldn't trust me."

Arthur dropped his head into his hands still feeling the tears pour down. "You… You have no idea how those words have… haunted… me these past two years." Arthur told him looking up and staring him in the face, Merlin's face still looked shocked. "I am so sorry, my friend" His breath caught a moment "I… I was wrong. There was never anyone in the world who… who I trusted more." Arthur said honestly, now wasn't the time for pride, his closest friend had just come back from the dead. "I betrayed you and for that I can never forgive myself."

Merlin stared at him, tears streaming freely down his face. He opened his mouth to speak but it only choked out a sob and this time he dropped his head into his hands. Arthur reached over and clutched a hand to his friend's shoulder in comfort. Merlin looked up at him. "I have… longed… to hear those words, but I couldn't ever lead myself to believe you'd say them." He admitted. "I… was the one who… lied to you, Arthur. I knew I should have told you long ago and… I didn't. I was a coward and I didn't think _**you**_ would ever forgive me."

Arthur laughed, actually laughed, he blamed it on shock. "It seems… that we have both wronged each other. Maybe… maybe we should just call it even and spend the time we have now making up for lost time rather than dwelling on old faults." Arthur suggested.

Merlin smiled, and oh that smile, that smile that Arthur never thought he would see again. It was like part of Arthur was returned to him, that place in his heart that had been absent since Merlin's death. "Wow." Merlin joked. "Who knew a dollophead could be so wise?" Merlin asked.

Arthur rolled his eyes, surprised how easily they slipped back into this. "Shut up, _Mer_lin." His voice broke as soon as Merlin's name left his mouth. It was the first time he had said it in a long time and the first time he had said it in such a familiar tone since before Merlin's death.

They both laughed, kind of hysterically. Arthur brought his hand up from Merlin's shoulder to ruffle the back of his head. Merlin's hand reached up and grasped Arthur's wrist. A frown appeared on his face and he pulled the wrist down to inspect it.

He stared at the cloth wrapped around Arthur's hand. "Is that my neckerchief?" He asked.

It was Arthur's turn to look a little sheepish and his face turned red. It seemed silly now knowing that Merlin was alive that he had worn it all this time but as he looked up into the confused but slightly touched eyes of Merlin he couldn't help but let the honest words slip out. "I keep it near me always."

Merlin's bright smile returned and for a moment they sat and enjoyed the honesty of being friends before Merlin cleared his throat. "I never knew you cared, Arthur."

Arthur rolled his eyes again and slowly untied the neckerchief, running it through his fingers. "I was just waiting to give it back." He half joked but there was seriousness in his eyes and tone. Merlin took it slowly and smoothed it out before tying it around his neck.

They sat staring at each other, finally content for the first time in years. Finally Arthur stood and held out his hand, "Come on." He said. "Let's go home."

Merlin eyes seemed to light up even more but Arthur wasn't sure that was possible. "Gwen's going to kill you by the way." Arthur joked though it fell flat for a moment as he thought, it really wasn't that funny, but the look of the blood draining from Merlin's face caused him to laugh out loud. Merlin stared at him in horror but soon couldn't help laughing with him as they went to check on and wake the knights and head back to the place that finally felt like home for the first time in a long time.

**AN: I attribute anything that is remotely OOC to shock :) Makes my job of writing a little easier hehe.**

**Hope you liked it… hope you loved it! Drop me a review and let me know!**

**God bless!**


	9. Chapter 9 - Reunions Part 1

**AN: I really have to stop leaving for the weekend… sorry guys went to the middle of nowhere again so this chapter is late in getting out but I should have the last two out in the next week!**

Coming home and seeing the different reactions from Merlin's closest friends was both hysterical and incredibly touching. Arthur hardly left Merlin's side through it all. The first to meet them had been Elyan and Leon who met them as they rode into the courtyard. Merlin pulled his hood up, not sure quite how he should reveal himself.

Arthur was smiling brightly, in fact he looked happier than he had in a long time and his knights eyed him warily. He laughed as he jumped down and walked over to them. Leon looked concerned as he saw Arthur's bandaged shoulder. "Sire, are you alright?" he asked worried.

Arthur looked at his shoulder, seemingly forgetting about the whole ambush thing and shrugged it off. "The bandits have been taken care of as has the sorcerer that was leading them."

Elyan and Leon went a little bug eyed at this. "A sorcerer?" Elyan asked worried.

"Nothing to worry about. My good friend here took care of them. I believe you have met him before." Arthur said a twinkle in his eyes. Merlin came forward hesitantly and pushed his hood down. From a distance you still wouldn't recognize him, Elyan didn't seem to recognize him at all just looked between Arthur and Merlin in confusion, as if asking Arthur if he should know this man.

It was Leon who spoke his name. "Merlin." he whispered and then Elyan's head whipped to stare at Leon and then closer at Merlin. Leon stepped forward a smile on his face pulling Merlin into a hug and then pushing him back and clasping him on the shoulder. Leon and Merlin had always had a strange camaraderie driven by their similar loyalties to Arthur.

Elyan stepped forward. "Merlin!" He said happily clasping the younger man in an embrace. "What… how?" He asked stepping back and staring at him.

Arthur frowned, now that he thought about it he didn't know the answer to that question. "A story for another time." Merlin said, he was practically bouncing, there were still many others he wanted to see. "I have some people who I haven't seen in a very long time."

Elyan nodded. "Of course!" He said. "It's… there aren't words to describe how good it is to see you."

Arthur looked at Leon. "Where's my wife?" He asked.

"She's in the throne room meeting with some peasants whose farmland is suffering from a drought." Arthur couldn't help but smile, Gwen's kindness never ceased to amaze him.

Merlin pulled his hood up, trying to avoid stares that would create rumors that would spread to people before he got a chance to see them. "Arthur?" he asked. "Can we make one more stop before seeing Gwen?"

Arthur looked at his friend and knew where it was he wanted to go. It only seemed right that they go and see Gaius. Arthur nodded in confirmation. He turned quickly to Leon and Elyan, "Do not tell anyone about Merlin. We have a lot of greetings to make and I don't want word of his return reaching Guinevere before we do." The knights nodded in agreement.

They headed towards the physician's chambers, Elyan and Leon hanging back and letting the two have their private moment. Even Arthur hung back a little when they got to Gaius' chambers. He leaned against the doorframe but wasn't ready to let Merlin out of his sight yet.

Merlin walked in, Gaius' back was turned, he pushed his hood down and walked slowly across the floor. Gaius' back stiffened and Arthur heard his breath hitch, recognizing the gait of his ward even after all this time. He turned slowly and stared at the man in front of him and then moving faster than Arthur thought was possible for the old man he ran across the room and pulled the boy he considered to be a son to him into his arms.

Merlin's hands flew around his mentor's shoulders and Arthur heard both of them sobbing. Gaius pulled away and placed Merlin's face in his hands much like Arthur had earlier. "I had heard whispers that the wizard Emrys had been performing magic all over Camelot but I dared not believe." He breathed.

"I'm sorry." Merlin choked out and suddenly Arthur felt like even this moment was too personal for him. He backed out of the room but stayed in the hallway for a long time, there was a bench in the hallway meant for family members to wait while Gaius worked, Arthur gladly sunk into the bench leaning his head back and resting after the day's events. About half an hour later the door burst open, Gaius stood there looking younger and happier than he had in a long time, but still surprisingly angry.

"Why didn't you tell me you were injured?" He scolded.

For the second time Arthur looked down at his shoulder having completely forgotten about it with all the shock of the day. Arthur shrugged and winced then stood and was ushered into the chambers by Gaius.

He panicked slightly when he didn't see Merlin but Gaius placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "He's in the back room freshening up. I left all his possessions in there."

Arthur couldn't help but bounce his leg or wring his hands as he waited for both Gaius and Merlin to be finished. "This would go a lot faster, sire, if you would hold still." Gaius chided but finally he was done and Merlin walked down from his room.

He looked much fresher, wearing a blue shirt and the neckerchief that Arthur had given back to him. He still looked older, his face ruddier, he hadn't shaved but simply trimmed his beard some so it didn't look so unruly, at Arthur's questioning look he shrugged. "I think it's growing on me." He eyed Arthur who normally would have rolled his eyes but instead burst out laughing.

"That's the worst joke I've ever heard." he said wiping a tear from his eye. Merlin just smiled at him.

"We should go see Gwen." Arthur suggested and Merlin's face grew somber as he nodded.

They moved through the castle and Arthur sent a servant to request Guinevere to meet him in his chambers. He had removed his chainmail and had a servant take care of it but was still wearing his travel clothes.

When they got there he expected Merlin to sit and wait but to his surprise he sent Arthur's current manservant (one who had surprisingly lasted more than a week) away and attended to Arthur himself.

Arthur felt uncomfortable at first. "You know you're no longer my manservant." Arthur said.

Merlin looked confused. "You're sacking me?" he asked.

"No you died, you idiot." Arthur said with a grunt as Merlin helped him get into his shirt, trying to move the injured shoulder as little as possible. "I had to replace you… several times in fact."

Merlin stopped straightening Arthur's shirt from behind. "How many times?" He asked.

Arthur thought about that. "I lost count." He admitted not looking at Merlin. Merlin chuckled.

"There were no other half decent servants about?" He asked.

"No, in fact they were all much better than you." Arthur joked. "But they were all so bloody boring! Some were ten times worse than George!"

"Ah, George." Merlin sighed. "Whatever happened to George?"

Arthur frowned. "He lasted a day before I promoted him."

"I thought you didn't like him." Merlin said.

"I didn't but he was too bloody efficient to fire, the only way to get rid of him was to promote him." Merlin laughed out loud and Arthur smiled. Both of them had their back to the door and hadn't heard it open but turned suddenly when they heard a gasp.

Arthur stared at his wife, at the look in her eyes, he had planned to break the news a little more gently but had gotten caught up in his banter with Merlin and hadn't been paying attention. He rushed to his wife's side as she looked between Merlin and Arthur with a pained and confused look on her face, begging her husband to explain what was going on.

"Guinevere." He said softly. "It's really him. He's alive."

Gwen turned and stared at Merlin, who stared back with a deep fondness, Gwen and Merlin had always been close since they worked in the palace together and Arthur knew Guinevere thought of him as a brother but somehow more than that. "Is he real?" She breathed.

Merlin stepped forward. "I'm real Gwen." He whispered. "And I'm sorry it's taken me so long to come home."

Tears poured freely down her face and she threw her arms out. Merlin wrapped her up and held her close. Arthur didn't feel even an ounce of jealousy, he knew what they had. It was much like what he had once had with Morgana, though she had turned out to be his sister for real.

Merlin pulled away and led her to a chair by the empty fireplace. Arthur sat down next to her taking her hand. She held it tightly, like a lifeline, but her eyes didn't leave Merlin. He pulled a stool up and sat in front of them.

Arthur knew know was the time to answer each other's questions, it was Gwen that asked first. "How?" She asked.

Arthur cleared his throat. "Maybe you had better start from the beginning Merlin." He suggested. Merlin's eyes bugged a little.

"The very beginning?" he asked. Arthur frowned.

"What other beginning is there?"

Merlin sighed and then his forehead creased in concentration. "Well…here it goes…"

**AN: I wrote in my story Secrets that Gaius was unpredictable. For me that's really true, I have no idea how he would react to finding out Merlin had died or come back to life but I think I did a pretty good job up to the point where they had their "private moment" (which was really just me trying to hide the fact that I had no idea what to write).**

**I really liked the Leon and Elyan scene as well as the Guinevere scene. I was really pleased with how this turned out and so didn't feel the need to do much editing which is always nice.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed it too. Next chapter we figure out a little bit of what happened to Merlin but for those of you wondering about Gwaine's reaction you'll just have to wait a little longer :) **

**Leave a review!**

**God bless!**


	10. Chapter 10 - Explanations

**AN: So like I told you guys Gwaine's reaction isn't until the next chapter but I hope you can still enjoy this one. It will hopefully give you some answers as it will give Arthur and Gwen some as well… anyway, without further ado, on with the fic!**

Merlin looked up at his two closest friends in the whole wide world, he was so happy to be back in their presence again. Seeing Gwen had caused an ache in his heart, but it was a good kind of ache, like stretching a muscle that has been in the same position for way too long.

"I was born with magic." he told them, not really surprised at the lack of surprise on Gwen's face at the mention of his magic.

"Born with it?" Arthur asked, Merlin nodded.

"Since I was very young, perhaps even a baby, I have been able to move objects across the room with my mind, create light where there isn't any, start fires, make wind in still air… the list goes on."

Arthur was frowning harder now. "I was always taught that magic was something that was learned."

"It is normally." Merlin told him. "I'm sort of a special case." They looked at him and urged him to continue. "I came to Camelot because my mother wanted me to have a guiding hand, someone who could teach me how to control my magic. She knew Gaius because he had helped my father escape Camelot." At their confused looks he added, "but that's another story."

Arthur huffed but resigned himself to a dissatisfied curiosity, in time everything would be explained. "Gaius had never seen anything like me before, and we weren't sure what my magic was for, what its purpose was. I started practicing magic more in depth because I needed to learn how to control it. It was around this time that I heard the voice of the great dragon."

As Merlin told his story Arthur felt more and more in awe, a story of a simple peasant who was secretly this amazing warlock and steadily became one of the most powerful sorcerers. He could still scarcely believe that his bumbling servant was a man who could command a storm with a thought in his mind, defeat an army with a few words, talk to a dragon!

Even after years of accepting the fact that Merlin had magic it was still weird to hear him talk about it so calmly. Merlin didn't tell them every story, just a basic overview of how he had protected Arthur for many years.

"And then… that day…" Merlin trailed off looking at Guinevere hesitantly and then at Arthur.

"I told her everything that I know happened on that day." Arthur told him. "The one thing we don't know is how you survived. That drop was so high we didn't even bother searching for a body! And the wound on your chest would have killed you if the fall hadn't."

"What happened after you fell, Merlin?" Gwen asked softly, they were both leaning on the edge of their seats.

Merlin grimaced slightly at the memory. "I had called Kilgarrah, the great dragon, to come to our aid. It was looking pretty grim and it was quite by accident that I gained the upper hand. When I fell he caught me and flew me away. He healed a good extent of my injury though it still left a scar." Merlin's hand flew up to rub at his chest and his eyes met Arthur's as they both remembered the conversation they had had in the woods that one night. They both decided without saying anything that they wouldn't mention the continuing pain to Gwen.

"After that I was kind of lost." Merlin said fiddling with his hands. "I traveled some, stayed different places but even though I was angry at you, Arthur," His blue eyes met Arthur's guilty ones for just a moment before moving on, "I couldn't chase away my own guilt about leaving you defenseless. So eventually I made my way back to Camelot and decided I would protect you any way I could, but I didn't want to reveal myself. In a way I thought it would be easier if everyone thought I was dead, but honestly I was just hurt, angry, and afraid, so I hid from everyone."

He paused as they all soaked in his words. It seemed to be the first time Merlin had come to this realization himself. Merlin cleared his throat. "It was a lovely funeral by the way." he mumbled.

Arthur thought he would punch him again. "You were there!?" He asked incredulously.

Merlin nodded once again looking sheepish. "Yeah…"

There was the sound of a smack and Merlin's cheek was turning red but both Arthur and him were shocked when they realized it was Gwen that had delivered the blow. She was trembling, tears pouring down her face again but just as suddenly she pulled Merlin into another embrace.

"You idiot." She whispered and Arthur smirked slightly while Merlin just gave him an exasperated look. "Even after seeing all the pain you put us through you were still so selfish as to hide yourself away." She pulled back and stared into his eyes.

Arthur had never seen Merlin look so guilty. "I know… I'm sorry." Merlin stated, completely humble. He didn't try to defend himself even a little bit.

Gwen sighed and lifted a hand to rest on Merlin's cheek where it was turning red from her slap. "I can hardly believe you're alive!" She cried laughing.

Merlin smiled and then laughed. "There is still so much more I have to tell you both but I fear it is going to take a lot longer and there are still people I wish to see."

He turned to Arthur. "Percival and Gwaine, are they alright? I've seen them from time to time but I can never tell how they are really doing."

Arthur grunted. "Percival's been pretty much the same since you… left." It was awkward saying Merlin had died when he was sitting right in front of him. "He's already suffered through so much tragedy, he knows how to deal with it. Gwaine…" Arthur hesitated. "Gwaine drinks… a lot." Merlin looked worried.

"Actually he's probably in the tavern now since he has the day off." Arthur admitted, not quite meeting Merlin's eyes as he spoke.

Merlin hesitated a moment longer before standing up. "I have to see him." he stated. Arthur nodded and stood up a little more slowly. "I'll come with you." Merlin didn't argue, only nodded.

**AN: Poor Gwaine… so next chapter we FINALLY get to see Gwaine's reaction and I promise I am just as anxious about seeing your reactions as you are about reading it! Hope you liked this chapter, kind of a filler but at the same time you do get to see what happened to Merlin and you get to see Gwen slapping Merlin :D**

**God bless!**


	11. Chapter 11 - Reunions Part 2

**AN: I'm super excited to see your guys reactions to this chapter but I'm really sad because the story is almost over :( Not to fear though I have another one equally as good (or better) which I am planning to finish writing and post by next month. More details will be given on that at the end of the next chapter, I know probably no one is reading this anyway because they're too eager to see Gwaine's reaction so without further ado . . .on with the fic!**

When they reached the tavern they weren't surprised to see Gwaine downing the last of a tankard of ale, his back to the door. Percival sat in front of him though he didn't seem to be drinking as much but instead was just waiting for Gwaine to finish so he could drag him back to the castle.

When he looked up and saw Arthur he stood up quickly. Gwaine tossed a look over his shoulder and glanced disdainfully at Arthur but made no move to get up.

"Well your royal highness?" He said sarcastically. "What brings you to my dark and lovely hole?"

Arthur didn't respond as Merlin moved up behind Gwaine. He placed his hand on Gwaine's shoulder. Gwaine didn't look up until he heard that voice. "Hello, Gwaine."

Gwaine's head shot up so quickly and his eyes widened and then the noble and honorable Sir Gwaine promptly fell out of his chair. It would be funny later, they would all laugh and joke about the look in Gwaine's eyes as he fell off his chair. It would be a tale to tell the generations to come, right now though no one laughed at all, there wasn't even a smirk on a face in the room. Even those who didn't really know what was going on were quiet.

Gwaine stared at Merlin from his spot on the floor and then shook his head and looked at his knees. "I must be drunker than I thought." he mumbled. "Though why I put a beard on Merlin's face I have no idea." He said looking up at Merlin with curiosity in his eyes.

"I'm not a hallucination, Gwaine." Merlin said.

Gwaine chortled. "That's what you always say, my friend."

Arthur frowned as he listened wondering about the mental stability of his knight.

"I see him too Gwaine." Percival spoke up, he sounded like he might think Merlin was a ghost.

Gwaine did a double take and stood up slowly. He stared at Merlin who stared back and then slowly reached a hand out poking him in the shoulder. All the air left him in a rush, like had just been thrown from a horse and the air had been forced out of his lungs. He grabbed onto Merlin for support now knowing that he could.

"I'm dreaming then." He stated not completely letting himself believe.

Merlin shook his head. "I'm not a dream either."

Gwaine didn't look convinced. "All dreams say that."

_Oh for the love of…_ Arthur strode over and smacked Gwaine across the face. Gwaine tottered for a second his eyes glancing over towards Arthur for only a moment before his face broke into a huge teary grin.

"Merlin!" He shouted and now Merlin was smiling too. "It is you!"

He pulled his friend into a hug, the first and only friend he really had for a long time, the man who had convinced him to become a knight, who gave him this whole life. He laughed then, and he didn't stop.

Finally he pulled Merlin down into the seat beside him. "A tankard of ale for my friend who has come back from the dead!" He shouted a cheer rose up from the crowd though most of the men still looked too drunk to really tell what was going on. Percival still looked wary but finally relaxed and sat down next to them. Arthur took the fourth seat.

Merlin was the one who looked confused now. "Don't you want to know how? Why?" He asked.

Gwaine shook his head. "Not right now, right now I just want to enjoy the fact that my friend, who I thought was dead, is alive and well."

Merlin hesitated a moment longer until four tankards were placed in front of the men, even Percival didn't seem to mind having questions put off till later. Merlin broke out into a smile and they all clanked their cups together, ale spilling out over their hands and wrists.

It didn't take long before Merlin was singing, Percival was arm wrestling, Gwaine was cheering them both on and Arthur just sat back and watched with a huge smile on his face. Tomorrow he would have a feast for their closest friends to welcome Merlin back, but tonight things felt normal and Arthur was okay with that.

**AN: So I'm sorry, I know it was short, as I was rereading it I was trying to find ways to make it longer but I just really liked it the way it was so I decided to leave it alone. Now there's just the epilogue left and I can't tell you how sad I am to say goodbye to this story even though I really wrote it over a month and a half ago, but I'll say my goodbyes in the next chapter.**

**Leave a review!**

**God bless!**


	12. Chapter 12 - Epilogue

The next day Arthur had woken up to a Not-Merlin pulling back his curtains and he had panicked. Thinking it was all a dream. He had gruffly ordered the man away and lay in bed for another half an hour. Someone entered the room, he assumed it was Guinevere because they hadn't knocked but when he heard that familiar voice his heart jumped, whether from joy or fright Arthur wasn't sure but he was glad to hear the voice nonetheless.

"Are you just going to lay around? I thought we had a feast to attend tonight!"

Arthur's head shot up. "Merlin!" He said happily.

Now Merlin looked confused, had Arthur forgotten everything that had happened yesterday.

"Yes…" Merlin said tentatively, wondering if his king and friend had gone crazy while he was gone and he had simply not noticed until this point in time.

Arthur scrubbed his hand over his face. "I thought it had all been a dream." He said sadly but relieved at the same time.

Merlin chuckled and proceeded to help Arthur get dressed. "You really can't be doing this." Arthur stated. Merlin frowned at him, a questioning look on his face. "You're not my manservant anymore."

Merlin actually looked sad. "Don't look so pathetic _Mer_lin. I have a sort of promotion for you." Arthur told him. Merlin still looked wary.

"If you're planning on making me court jester you have another thing coming." Merlin stated boldly. Arthur chuckled for awhile, he had a feeling it was going to be like that for some time because it would take a long time to believe that it was really Merlin and that each joke was his and that it wouldn't be the last one he heard.

"No, something better." Arthur said finally, turning to look Merlin in the eye seriously. "I plan to bring magic back to Camelot." He said.

Merlin's eyes widened. "Arthur…" He hesitated and Arthur was confused.

"I thought you'd be happy." He said his face falling.

Merlin's eyes widened. "I am… I mean… I will be… I mean… this can't be a hasty decision. I mean I'm happy you decided to do this but… this could cause chaos."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I am the king Merlin, I do know what I'm doing." He stated. "It's not a decision I just made, it's something I've been working on for about… two years." He hesitated telling Merlin, but there was no point in hiding it, "two years." Merlin would find out one way or another that he was the reason Arthur had changed his views on magic, it was quite obvious.

Merlin shut his mouth and looked at Arthur seriously. Arthur cleared his throat seeing that he had Merlin's full attention. "I need someone to advise me on matters of magic. Gaius knows a good amount it seems but it would be helpful to have an actual sorcerer." He hesitated looking down as he pulled his belt on before looking back at Merlin and straightening his shoulders to look him square in the eye. "I can think of no better man than the one who showed me reason when it came to magic in the first place."

Merlin gulped and then turned away running his hands through his hair shakily. "I'm not sure I'm the right man for the job, Arthur." he didn't look at Arthur. "I've been in hiding for two years, I barely talked to anyone in that time, before that I was a simple servant."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't say simple, you ended up being a lot more complex than I could have imagined, and you weren't just any servant, you were servant to the king." Merlin still didn't look at him and so Arthur's tone turned more serious, "And beyond that you have always been a good advisor, you've always been able to show me what is right and what is wrong, and even when you didn't know you helped me figure out what I believed." Arthur placed a hand on Merlin's shoulder. "Beyond that you have always been a loyal and good friend and there is no one I trust more in the world. You are without a doubt, the perfect man for the job."

Merlin seemed uncomfortable with the blatant display of affection so Arthur was only too happy to change the subject and so he cleared his throat, insulted Merlin, and Merlin quipped back before accepting his new position. It wasn't quite normal after that, it never would be the old normal, but it was a new normal and, in some ways, a better normal and that was alright with Arthur.

It didn't happen overnight but eventually, with Merlin's help, magic was returned to the kingdom. It took quite a few days of Arthur waking up and throwing things at poor undeserving servants who went and got either Merlin or Gwen to come and calm him down before he realized that no, he wasn't dreaming, and yes his friend was still alive.

Despite the fact that they weren't working as closely together Merlin and Arthur became almost more inseparable and together they built the kingdom that had been prophesied for an age. Together, they fulfilled their destinies.

**AN: Awww so sad its over but "Yay!" happy ending! Sorry if it was kind of abrupt in the end, didn't mean for it to be but ran out of creative juices and even when I tried later I couldn't think up anything better.**

**Thank you SO much for sticking with me through this process! It's amazing how many responses I got to this story! On the days I posted chapters there would be over 1,000 views! You guys were all amazing and left me absolutely incredible reviews! I'm so pleased you enjoyed it.**

**Don't worry this isn't completely goodbye, if you liked the story I'll be posting a new one (not a sequel) October 8. I know that's quite some time away but it will give me time to fully finish the story at the same time it will give me a deadline so I have to finish the story before then.**

**For now I'll give you a description and perhaps if enough people are interested I'll add another chapter as a sneak peek :) You'll have to leave a review!**

**Here's the description of my story titled "Innocence and Instinct", so you can see if you're interested:**

**After Arthur and Merlin are rescued from being imprisoned by a sorcerer named Garlock, Arthur must deal with the nightmares from the days of his torture, but he discovers his nightmare is only beginning when he must try and fix a suicidal Merlin. What happened to Merlin while they were captured and can Arthur deal with Merlin's demons along with his own? Rated M for multiple suicide attempts although not too graphic. Friendship, no slash. **

**So there you go, if you are interested in reading this story then please follow me as an Arthur or check back after the 8****th**** of October to see if I have posted it yet. It is rated M but only for safety not because it is graphic and I do not believe that it is out of character at all.**

**Please leave me a goodbye review and thank you again all for being SUCH great fans!**

**God bless!**

**FeedtheFlames**


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